A crescent shaped port, fishermen selling their catch on the waterfront, a timeless, picturesque centro storico that looks like it could be a movie set, a castle, and a stunning limestone Romanesque cathedral right at the water’s edge where you expect to find a lighthouse. These are some of the reasons why Trani is one of my favourite day trips. It is a beautiful, peaceful, uncrowded fishing port on the Adriatic, between Barletta and Bari. Trani is on the main ‘Adriatico’ railway line so it is easily accessible without a car.

Trani is ancient Tirenum, allegedly founded by Tirenus, son of Diomede. Trani is famous for issuing the ‘Ordinamenta et consultudo Maris’ in 1063. This is the oldest surviving maritime law code in the west. The street along the harbor is called ‘Via Statuti Marittimi’. Trani is also known for Moscato di Trani, figs, almonds and olive oil.

During the rule of Federico Secondo (aka Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II) in the early 13th Century, Trani became an important political center and trading port with the Orient. Since Trani was on the pilgrimage route to the Holy Land it grew and prospered. Trani also had a close diplomatic and trading relationship with Venezia.When I got off the train in Trani, I walked about half an hour, straight to the cathedral. I am a big fan of Romanico Pugliese (Pugliese Romanesque), an 11th-13th Century architectural style unique to Puglia. Romanico Pugliese includes classic Romanesque features such as tall facades, campanili and rose windows, blended with Byzantine and Islamic architectural details. In fact, since 2006, the Romanico Pugliese churches in Puglia are on the the UNESCO World Heritage Sites tentative list. This is the step before becoming a World Heritage Site.The Trani cathedral was built in 1099 out of local tufo, a creamy coloured limestone that almost seems to glow in the sun. One of the oldest and largest cathedrals in Puglia, it was used as a model for the ones built later. It was named for San Nicola Pellegrino (the Pilgrim), a 19 year old Greek shepherd who died while on pilgrimage in Trani in 1094. His bones are in the crypt. Note….this is not the same San Nicola who is buried in Bari and is the inspiration for Santa Claus. Trani’s cathedral was constructed on layers of history. It was built over the foundations of a 5th Century Byzantine church, Santa Maria della Scala, which was built over the Roman crypt of San Leucio. Both of these ‘layers’ are accessible. The beautiful bronze doors are a copy. The original doors are on display inside. The 32 panels were sculpted by Barisano di Trani who also did work on the cathedrals in Ravenna and Monreale. The 60m high campanile built in 1239 has square corners and an octagonal spire. The number of windows increase with each floor. The campanile was being renovated when I was there, so I have included a photo I took in 1994 without the scaffolding.

Trani 1994

Right on the harbour is the Chiesa di Ognissanti, built in the 12th Century by the Knights Templar in the courtyard of their hospital. Trani was on the route to the Holy Land and the knights had a hospital here for those wounded in the crusades. It is not open to the public.At the far end of the harbour, the Villa Comunale is a park with benches and a seaside walk. The breakwater near the Cathedral is a nice place to sit and soak up the sun or go for a swim.

Federico II built the Castello Svevo in 1249. It has square towers at each corner. The sea water moat was filled in. From the 1800’s-1974 the castello was used as a prison. Now it is open to visitors and hosts cultural events. Admission is €3.

Trani once had southern Italia’s largest Giudecca community or Jewish neighborhood. It was not a ghetto, as it was not closed off. There were once 4 synagogues. The Scolanova Synagogue spent centuries as a church, but in 2006 it was rededicated as a synagogue.

Trani is small enough that you can walk everywhere. From the Stazione, walk straight out and turn left at Piazza della Repubblica. There is an info point here. It is about a half hour walk along quiet streets with beautiful palazzi to the cathedral and port. Just ask a local for ‘Il Porto’ if you need directions. Shops are closed from 1-5 pm.

For seafood lovers, the port has many excellent restaurants. My cousins had given me 3 restaurant recommendations. It was such a beautiful sunny day I just wanted to sit near the breakwater and enjoy the sea. I had a mad craving for polipo-octopus. I ended up getting a take away insalata di polipo and a glass of Falanghina. It was perfect!

Trani is a great base to stay for exploring several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Castel del Monte, Alberobello and Matera are all about 1 hour away.

In August, I attended the Association of Italian Canadian Writers (AICW) 16th biennial conference ‘Italian Canadian Literature: Departures, Journeys, Destinations’ where I read my first short story in public. 38 speakers, AICW members and friends came from across Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain, the United States and the United Kingdom. The conference presentations were amazing and an anthology will be published next year.

View from Conference Room

The conference was held in Padula (Salerno, Campania) at La Certosa di Padula, a Carthusian Monastery built in 1306 and added onto over the next 450 years. Dedicated to San Lorenzo, the style is mostly Baroque and it is the largest monastery in Italia. Chiostro Grande is the largest cloister in the world, surrounded by 84 columns. The place is huge with a total of 320 rooms! In 1998, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano and the archeological sites of Paestum and Velia. I have now been to all of them except Velia.

The Certosa site is made up of spaces for contemplation -the cloisters, library and chapels, and spaces for work -the kitchen, cantina, laundry, stables and gardens.

While I was there, due to restoration work the upper floor was not accessible. This meant I was not able to see the monks’ cells or take the white marble scala elittico to the large biblioteca (library) which has a Maiolica tile floor from Vietri sul Mare and 2000 remaining manuscripts. I was also not able to see the last construction added to the site in 1799, the famous Scalone Elicoidale –an ornate double ramped, double helix shaped staircase in an octagonal tower with 8 large open windows overlooking a garden. The Scalone spirals incorporating the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden Section, which I find fascinating. It connects the upper floor to the Chiostro Grande and was used by the cloistered monaci for their passeggiata settimanale –weekly walk. Being a lover of staircases, books and libraries, the closure was disappointing, but luckily there was still a lot left to see. Most of the chapels are Baroque and very ornate, with the largest collection of Scagliola work found anywhere. Scagliola (sca·LYOH·lah) is a technique for painting stucco columns, sculptures, and other architectural features to look like inlays in marble and semi-precious stones, such as madre di perla. Those monaci were frugal and talented! Now I know what to call the areas of my house that I have painted to look like Carrara marble!

The Monastery kitchen, renovated in 1742, could have been the perfect setting for ‘Masterchef: Medieval edition’. It is brightened by yellow and green Maiolica tiles which look completely out of place. The colours were chosen to keep the flies away- at least that is what the guard told me! The most striking feature in the cucina is an enormous cappa or hood, on a furnace with an antique boiler and a base covered in maiolica tiles. The inside of the cappa is blackened from hundreds of years of use. Stone work tables are in place and on the back wall is a large fresco, painted in 1650, obscured by time and smoke. This part of the cucina with its barrel vaulted ceiling used to be a rectory before the 1742 reno. The cucina has its own cloister and small garden, with the cantina and laundries next to it.

Chi lava i piatti?

The monaci ate frugal, meatless meals in solitude in their cells, except during special occasions. The refettorio (rectory) hall with 61 stalls carved of walnut wood is where they sat at meal times on feast days and during Lent. The 1749 fresco is of Le Nozze di Cana. Occasionally the cucina was used to prepare rich meals for visits by important guests, most famously the one organized for Emperor Carlo V on his return from Tunisia in 1535. The monaci prepared him a frittata with 1,000 eggs. My first night in Padula, August 10th, was the annual Festa della Frittata di Mille Uova, recreating this event. The modern contraption used to make the frittata was made in 1996 and looks like a colossal pizzelle iron that flips over and rolls across a massive fire pit! Unfortunately we don’t know what the monaci used to make their frittata.

Frittatta di mille uova making contraption!

In 1802, the monaci had to abandon La Certosa, and Napoleonic troops took away any treasures that were cartable. They returned a few years later, but abandoned La Certosa for the last time in 1866. 20 years later, it was declared a national monument. During the 2 World Wars the complex was mostly abandoned, being used briefly as a prison camp, and as a children’s holiday camp. Padula received funds for restoration in 1982.

Padula is a very nice town of 5,000. Getting there without your own car is extremely difficult. Padula is on the A3 Salerno-Reggio Calabria road, exit Buonabitacolo. The closest train station is Sapri on the Cilento coast. There are a couple of buses a day from Napoli, which make stops in every town along the way. Although very out of the way, Padula is worth the detour! The drive there from Paestum was stunning. Admission to La Certosa di Padula is €4 for adults. Make sure you have at least 4 hours to visit. There are 2 very nice, affordable hotels in Padula, Grand Hotel Certosa and Villa Cosilinum.

The first time I saw Paestum I was 11 years old. Even then, I was an archeology and mythology nerd and was fascinated by the wonders of this place. It took many years, but I finally went back to Paestum this year! It was every bit as enchanting as it was then-maybe even more!

Paestum was founded around 600 BC by Greek colonists from Sybaris, a Greek colony in Calabria. They named it Poseidonia, after Poseidon, Greek God of the sea. Poseidonia became a prosperous trade center in Magna Grecia, the Greek colonies in Southern Italia. They even minted their own coins. The Lucanians took over around 390 BC and called it Paistom. In 273 BC, the Romans conquered, Latinized the name to Paestum, and constructed more buildings. Paestum was partially damaged by an earthquake after the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. In the 5th Century AD with Christianity came a Paleochristian church and a Bishop. Deforestation and other factors led to conditions that brought malaria. The malaria plus Saracen attacks caused the abandonment of Paestum by 877 AD. The inhabitants retreated to higher ground at Capaccio, 6 km away. Overgrown by forest and buried by swamps, Paestum remained hidden and forgotten for almost 900 years. In 1748, the temples were rediscovered by road builders, who apparently kept ploughing right through.

Paestum is in a quiet, idyllic setting in the countryside, surrounded by farmland. 3 well-preserved majestic Greek temples rise up out of the plain. La Basilica is the oldest of the temples, built in 550 BC and is actually a temple to Hera. 18th century archeologists mistakenly identified it as a Roman building used as a meeting place.

La Basilica

Right next to it, the Tempio di Nettuno (Neptune is the Roman equivalent of Poseidon) resembles the Parthenon. It was built in 460 BC and is the best preserved Doric temple outside of Greece. It is almost intact, with only the roof and a bit of the inside missing. You can actually walk inside both of these temples!

Tempio di Nettuno

A bit farther away from the other 2 temples is the Tempio di Cerere (Temple of Ceres/ Demeter) which was actually a temple to Athena. 18th Century archeologists must have been very confused. It was built in 500 BC and the architecture is part Doric, part Ionic. At some point, it was used as a church and has 3 medieval tombs in the floor. The inside of this temple is not accessible.

Tempio di Cerere

The remains of the ancient city also include a Roman Forum, paved streets, the foundations of public buildings and many residential Roman houses, an amphitheater, and a swimming pool/gymnasium. Walking through the overgrown areas provides some of the best views and glimpses of some mosaic floors. The city walls, almost 5 km long, are mostly intact with 24 towers and 4 gates. Only 20% of the site has been excavated. 80% of Paestum is still buried under agricultural land, most of it privately owned. A road cuts the site in 2 and has a few restaurants, bars, souvenir shops, a small piazza, the Paleochristian church, an information center, and the museum. The amphitheater is only half exposed as the road was enlarged in the 1930’s and buried the east half of it!

The Museo Nazionale contains all of the items found in tombs in and around Paestum and the Metopes from a temple 9 km away. There are also Giovanni Piranesi’s etchings of the site, printed in 1778. The most amazing thing in the museum was on loan and I did not get to see it! It is the 470 BC Tomba del Tuffatore, tomb of the diver, a fresco painted on the underside of a tomb which portrays a young man in mid-air diving off a cliff into water. It is thought to portray the harmonious passage from life to death.

The Archeological site of Paestum is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Cilento coast, Vallo di Diano National Park, the archeological site of Velia and the Certosa di Padula. Today, Paestum is a Frazione or hamlet of Capaccio in the province of Salerno. It is accessible by bus or local train from Salerno (30 minutes), but the best way to get there is by car. The drive is spectacular and it is worth going out of the way for. Even on a ‘busy’ summer day, the site is not crowded. Staying the night is a great idea, as you can visit the ruins just before sunset. A combination ticket to the site and museum is €9.

San Gimignano’s skyline looks like a Medieval Metropolis, complete with early ‘grattacieli’ (grat•tah•chee•EH•lee = skyscrapers). It was known as San Gimignano delle belle Torri-San Gimignano of the beautiful towers. The site was an Etruscan settlement, then a castello called Silvia with a walled village built around it. Silvia was renamed San Gimignano in 450 after the Bishop of Modena, who spared it from Attila the Hun’s troops.

San Gimignano became an independent town in 1199. It was prosperous, being a stopping point on La Via Francigena, the medieval pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Roma, via France. San Gimignano also traded in local zafferano (zaf•fer•RAN•noh = saffron) and wine from the white Vernaccia grape. The earliest mention of Vernaccia di San Gimignano is in the archives of 1276! In 1966, 690 years later, it was the first Italian vino bianco to receive DOC recognition.

The 13 and 14th Centuries saw San Gimignano caught in the Guelph/Ghibelline conflicts. Read about this in Dante’s post. Wealthy San Gimignanesi built tower houses as symbols of power and wealth, as well as for protection. The height of these ’torri’ kept increasing, up to 70m high, to keep up with the neighbors. There were originally 72 torri and 14 still stand today.

Waves of plague and famine hit San Gimignano in the mid 1300’s. The ‘black death’ claimed almost half the population, and San Gimignano was now under the rule of Firenze. Fiorentino control prevented any urban development that happened in other towns. As a result, San Gimignano was preserved in a medieval ‘time warp’, retaining its original atmosphere and appearance. Little changed until the 19th century when it became a tourism destination. Today the pop is 7800 and it does have 1 traffic light! To protect San Gimignano from the effects of mass tourism, strict rules prevent modification to the appearance or intended use of buildings.

Bancomat Medievale/Medieval Bank Machine!

In 1990, the Historic Center of San Gimignano became a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its outstanding examples of medieval architecture and original urban layout.

The Cattedrale know as La Collegiata, has Masterpieces of 14th and 15th Century art. Inside the front façade is the Fresco of Last Judgement, Heaven and Hell by Taddeo di Bartolo (1393). The Cappella di Santa Fina with frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio (1475) was featured in the 1990 Franco Zeffirelli film ‘Tea with Mussolini’.

In the Palazzo Comunale is the Sala di Dante where Dante Alighieri spoke as an ambassador for the Guelphs in May 1300. The Pinacoteca has treasures by Filippino Lippi, among others. Climb the 218 steps of the adjacent 54m Torre Grossa for views of San Gimignano and the Val d’Elsa. Admission is €6.

Piazza della Cisterna is triangular with a well on an octagonal pedestal in the center, surrounded by medieval buildings. It is named for the underground cistern built in 1287 which was the main source of water for the San Gimignanesi. Piazza della Cisterna is the meeting point of the Via Francigena and the road from Pisa to Siena, so it was a happening place in medieval times.

Piazza della Cisterna, seen from Torre Grossa

San Gimignano is an easy daytrip on the bus from Firenze, Siena or Poggibonsi. There is no direct train. The route is to change trains at Empoli to Poggibonsi and then bus from there. It’s also nice to be there in the evening or overnight when all of the daytrippers have left.

Like Alberobello, no matter how many hordes of tourists it is overrun with, San Gimignano is ‘incantevole’ (een•can•teh•VOH•leh = enchanting) and definitely worth a visit. I need to go back to do ‘research’, since I have a drawer full of unfinished sketches, monotypes and etchings! Buon Viaggio, Cristina

Matera is a rock-cut settlement in Basilicata, the most isolated, least visited region of Italia. It is one of the world’s oldest living cities, continuously inhabited for over 9,000 years. Clinging to a 300m gravina (ravine) carved out by the river below, Matera seems to rise straight up from the earth, built in 2 natural basins. These basins are the ‘Sassi’ districts, Sasso Caveoso and Sasso Barisano. Sassi means stones and refers to the rock cut cave dwellings. The higher ground in between the 2 Sassi districts is the Civita. Above the Sassi, on the Piano (plain/plateau) modern Matera is barely visible. The Piano was originally used for agriculture and water collection.

Across the canyon, the west side of the gravina is the Murgia Plateau and the Parco Archeologico Storico Naturale delle Chiese Rupestre Materano. The original stone-age settlement was on this side. The Parco Archeologico is filled with grotte (caves), Chiese Rupestri (churches carved into the rock), Neolithic villages and tombs. From Matera, the grotte look like little mouseholes. With the invention of tools it was easier to dig into the softer tufo (calcareous rock) on the east side of the gravina and Matera was excavated from this rock.

Grotte (caves) across the ravine from Matera

The Sassi developed in layers over time, as Matera was home to every passing civilization. On the surface the Sassi look deceiving. House fronts are facades-built in front of, on top of and around caves! Incredible systems of underground cisterns and canals were built to collect and distribute rainwater.

Matera’s isolated location made the area attractive to religious communities. Between the 8th and 13th centuries, Byzantine Basilian monks escaping religious persecution lived in the grotte. There are over 150 Chiese Rupestri with priceless Byzantine frescoes throughout Matera and the Parco delle Chiese Rupestri. By the 15th century, peasants and animals occupied the grotte left by the monks.

Things moved along for the next few centuries. When Matera was the provincial capital 1663-1806, increased activity caused a rise in population. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the wealthier Materani moved into the newer town on the Piano, leaving only contadini and artigiani (farmers and artisans) in the Sassi. By the early 20th century, the Sassi could not accommodate the increased population. Overcrowding plus development of the Piano also affected the water collection systems and led to poor sanitary conditions. With less farmland available, the poverty was unbelievable. Large families shared dark, crowded case grotte (cave homes) with sheep, pigs and goats. Some were only accessible by a trapdoor and ladder. There was no electricity, running water or sewage. It’s hard to imagine these kind of living conditions.

Matera’s situation continued on unnoticed- until the 1945 release of ‘Cristo si è Fermato a Eboli’ (Christ Stopped at Eboli), Carlo Levi’s memoir about his year as a political prisoner in Basilicata in 1935/36. Levi was a doctor, writer and artist from a wealthy family in Torino. He was exiled to a small town near Matera for his Anti-fascist views. Near the beginning of the book, his sister Luisa, also a doctor, needs a permission form stamped in Matera so she can visit him. She describes the Sassi as ‘a schoolboy’s idea of Dante’s Inferno’. She states ‘I felt, under the blinding sun as if I were in a city stricken by the plague. I have never in all my life seen such a picture of poverty. ..This is how 20,000 people live!’ There was a 50% infant mortality rate, malaria, dysentery and trachoma. Eboli is south of Napoli and the title is a local expression suggesting that Christ didn’t make it as far as Basilicata so they are beyond civilization and hope.

Carlo spends a few hours in Matera near the end of the book and says ‘I had time to see the town and then I understood my sister’s horror, although at the same time I was struck by it’s tragic beauty’. I’ve read this book twice and definitely recommend it. It is very philosophical and it is obvious from Levi’s writing and painting that this experience affected him profoundly. His paintings from Basilicata are on display in the Museo di Arte Medievale e Moderna in Palazzo Lanfranchi.

Levi’s book became internationally known and brought to light the living conditions in Basilicata. Matera became ‘La Vergogna Nazionale’ the National Shame. The Sassi were declared unsafe and unsanitary, although only 30% were actually unsafe. US experts on rural relocation were brought in as consultants. Instead of temporarily relocating the residents while the structurally unsafe areas were fixed, the government forcibly relocated almost everyone to poorly planned government housing. Starting in 1952, 16,000 people were removed from the Sassi to new apartments in the ‘modern town’ that were built facing away from the Sassi. The move isolated families and the community and made them feel ashamed for being poor. An unfortunate example of a patronizing, poorly conceived plan to help people without consulting them or addressing the real problem.

The Sassi became an archeological ghost town in the 1960’s,mostly abandoned except for a few families who had stayed or moved back in. In the 1970’s squatters, local hippies, artists and drug dealers lived in the Sassi. A group of young locals formed Circolo La Scaletta, an organization that lobbied for restoration of the Sassi and protection of the frescoes. One of their supporters was Carlo Levi, now an Italian senator. Yeah Carlo! In the 1980’s laws were passed protecting the Sassi and Chiese Rupestri.

In 1993 the Sassi finally went from shame to fame when UNESCO declared I Sassi di Matera e il Parco delle Chiese Rupestri a world heritage site. Calling it ‘the most outstanding intact example of a troglodyte (cave dweller) settlement in the Mediterranean region, perfectly adapted to its terrain and ecosystem’. Today about 3,000 people live in the Sassi. 50% are occupied and more continue to be restored. In Sasso Caveoso, some areas are still unsafe and blocked off. Now Matera has sassi hotels, bed and breakfasts, ristoranti, offices, artisan shops and galleries as well as homes.

Photogenic Matera has played ancient Jerusalem in several movies, including Pasolini’s ‘Il Vangelo Secondo San Matteo’ (1964), Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004), and ‘Ben Hur’ (2016).

Matera was selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2019 and will host cultural events raising its visibility and profile internationally. Luckily, Matera is not the easiest place to get to, which will prevent it from becoming an overcrowded tourist theme park like Capri!

Exploring Matera. Photo by D Goodheart

There is something very special about this hauntingly beautiful place. As I wandered through the alleys and mazes of Matera, I was reminded once again of the amazing courage and resilience of our contadini ancestors.

As the car nears Alberobello, trulli (TROOL•lee) start to appear in the rural landscape and my imagination goes into overtime. I hear the tune ‘La-la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la’ in my head and I expect i Puffi (the Smurfs) to start dancing around the whitewashed trulli! Too much midday Pugliese sun maybe? Trulli are traditional limestone houses unique to the Val d’Itria in Southern Puglia. They were built ‘a secco’, which means dry-without mortar. Trulli have domed cone-shaped roofs built up of overlapping chiancharelle (kyan•ka•REL•leh)-grey limestone slabs. On the capstone at the top is a decorative pinnacolo (pinnacle). The shape of the pinnacolo is said to be a signature of the stonemason who built it. Some roofs also have mythologic or religious symbols painted on them.

The ‘Zona dei Trulli’ includes the areas around Locorotondo, Fasano, Cisternino, Martina Franca, Ceglie Massapica and the largest concentration of 1,620 trulli in Alberobello. Alberobello and its trulli are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO believe Alberobello is an exceptional example of the survival of prehistoric building techniques that are still in use. The fact that the buildings are so well-preserved and still occupied make the site unique.

The word trullo comes from tholos (τρούλος) a variation of the Greek word for cupola or dome. There were already scattered trulli settlements in the Val d’Itria around the year 1000. These gradually grew into villages, later called Aja Piccola and Monti-the 2 trulli districts in Alberobello today. The oldest trulli we know of date back to about 1350 when the Counts Acquaviva of Conversano were given land for their service during the Crusades and colonized the area by moving people from their nearby areas.

Tradition has it that building ‘a secco’ was imposed on the settlers so their houses could be dismantled quickly and easily. At first this was so the count could easily dispossess villagers of their homes. Later it was a way to evade taxation imposed on each new construction by the King of Napoli. The trulli could be dismantled when the tax collector came by for an inspection, and then reconstructed just as quickly when he left. Trulli came to be known as temporary, unstable field shelters that were not worth taxing.

Trullo Siamese. 2 brothers in love with the same woman lived here. They split it in half and the single brother installed a door into the lane.

In reality, trulli are anything but unstable or primitive. They are built directly on the underlying natural rock and their internal structure is very durable. The thick double walls keep the trullo warm in winter and cool in summer. There are systems for collecting rainwater using eaves projecting at the base of the roof diverting water through a channelled slab into a cistern underneath the trullo. Some trullo homes are made up of groups of 2- 5 trulli. Most historians agree that the building technique for trulli came about due to the area’s geographical conditions and abundance of limestone. The quickie evictions and tax evasion scam came later.

In the early 1600’s there was a group of about 40 trulli in Rione Monti (Monti District) then settlement and trullo construction really expanded with the addition of a bakery, mill, tavern and butcher shop. In 1797 the feudal rule of the Acquaviva family ended when Ferdinand IV, King of Napoli proclaimed the community a ‘citta regia’, or royal town. Alberobello took its name from silva arboris belli, the Latin name for the region.

Inner-city trulli?

Today Rione Monti has 1,030 trulli and Rione Aja Piccola has 590 trulli, many of which are still inhabited as homes by some of Alberobello’s 11,000 residents. You can also find the trullo church of Sant’Antonio di Padova, trullo souvenir shops and ristoranti, and a trullo hotel. In the surrounding countryside there are many trullo masserie (farmhouses) that can be rented.

Exterior of a single trullo and interior of a trullo photo and art gallery

In 2010 along with Orsara di Puglia, Alberobello was distinguished with a Bandiera Arancione (orange flag) designation, a seal of quality from the Touring Club Italiano. Alberobello can be accessed by train or bus from Bari. Although Alberobello is quite ‘touristy’, it still retains its charm and is definitely worth a visit. If you can brave the mid-day sun in the summer, the cast shadows against whitewashed walls are an artist’s and photographer’s dream….but if you start dreaming about i Puffi, you’d better go find some shade!

Alberobello souvenirs. A linen towel and my very own very cute trullo. I bought it the first time I visited Alberobello. It’s made of real limestone and chiancharelle.

I wrote an email a while ago about my daytrip from Firenze to the Val d’Orcia with my friend Shannon. I’ve sent that same email so many times to friends planning to visit Toscana that I thought it would make a great blog post.

My amica Shannon was studying printmaking at Il Bisonte in Firenze for a year and I went to visit her for a week . We decided to rent a car for a day and go exploring. Our start time was delayed and by the time we drove off it was almost mezzogiorno (noon). No plans were made regarding where to go, we just drove away from Firenze then headed south, towards Siena. We passed a sign for Monteriggioni, which neither of us had been to, so that was our first stop. Monteriggioni is a small 13th Century medieval walled village. Besides the intact 10m high walls and 14 square towers, Monteriggioni’s claim to fame is a mention from Dante in his Divina Commedia: Inferno, canto xxxi lines 41-42:

‘Come in su la cerchia tonda, Monteriggioni di torri si corona’

‘Like a circling round, Monteriggioni crowns itself with towers.’

Hunger set in, but we didn’t want to take time from our adventure to sit in a restaurant. At the Generi Alimentari (grocery/deli) we picked up some local goodies…prosciutto, finocchione (Tuscan fennel salame), pecorino di Pienza, fresh bread, and 2 glasses of Chianti—all for 11 €! They put it all in a cestino (basket) for us and we ate outside in the piazza. It was the best lunch ever. See for yourself…..

We got back in the car and headed towards the Val d’Orcia. When you see photos or postcards of the classic Toscana landscape with gentle rolling hills, vineyards and cipressi (cypress trees)…this is it!

The entire Val d’Orcia is a UNESCO World Cultural Landscape. When we stopped in Montalcino, there was a sign for the Abbazia Sant’Antimo. I had recently read about this beautiful Romanesque Abbey, so we drove to Castelnuovo dell’Abate, parked the car and walked down.

Sant’Antimo is a heavenly place, in a valley surrounded by vineyards, olive trees and cypresses. Parallel to the bell tower stands a striking single cypress tree. A powerful monastery in the middle ages, Sant’Antimo was abandoned for a short period of about 500 years! Local contadini (farmers) apparently used the crypt as a wine cellar!

Restoration work was done in the 1980’s and now it is home to a small Canonical order. 7 times a day there are vespers and Mass with Canto Gregoriano (Gregorian chanting). Sant’Antimo is worth going out of the way for. Next time I am there, I want to walk the 10.5 km from Montalcino and take the bus back from Castelnuovo.

Castelnuovo dell’ Abate

Between San Quirico d’Orcia and Pienza the scenery was breathtaking, including one of the most photographed places in Italia, La Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta. It is on private property so we weren’t able to visit, but we did lots of admiring from afar.

Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta-unfinished mixed media painting

There were cipressi everywhere! I have a fascination with cipressi (chee•PRES•see) and love to paint their ‘flame’ shapes and shadows. My nipotine have always called them ‘Zia’s trees’ and they love to paint them too. We came across some random sculpture among the cipressi with signs ‘Si prega di non appogiarsi alle sculture’ (Please don’t lean on the sculptures).

Pienza-formerly called Cortignano was the birth town of Pope Pio (Pius) II. In 1489, he rebuilt it to be an ‘ideal town’ according to Renaissance Humanist design concepts and renamed it after himself. He was a humble man! The Centro Storico (historic center) of Pienza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of this early vision of urban planning. I could have spent weeks sketching in Pienza!

After a brief visit to Montepulciano we had to start heading back towards Firenze. Our final stop was Castellina in Chianti to have ‘pappardelle al lepere’ (thick ribbon pasta with wild rabbit sauce) which was so yummy! The ride to Castellina was spectacular. We somehow ended up on a back road, the sun was setting and everything was sparkly and lavender! Just before mezzanotte (midnight) we arrived back in Firenze and dropped off the car. Our Val d’Orcia adventure lasted exactly 12 wonderfully unplanned hours.